The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Medical professionals such as doctors and nurses routinely wear protective garments while performing medical procedures such as cardiac catheterizations, for example. These garments are typically constructed as vests or aprons, which include radiation-absorbing materials such as lead or other metals, for example.
Although useful for preventing unwanted radiation exposure, these garments are often uncomfortable, ill-fitting and heavy, thereby placing a significant stress on the users' back and shoulders. Moreover, unlike patients who wear these garments for short periods of time, medical professionals must often wear these garments for several hours each day, thereby increasing the toll on their bodies over time.
For these reasons, it is not uncommon for medical professionals to purchase their own protective garments that are custom fit to suit the contours of the persons' body. Although this approach greatly improves the uncomfortable and ill-fitting problems associated with the traditional protective garments, it does not alleviate the back and shoulder problems discussed above.
Conversely, there are several known suspended radiation suit systems which utilize a cable and pulley to support the weight of an integrated body suit. In this regard, a medical professional wearing the suit will have limited movement about the operating room. However, the user must disconnect the suit (if possible) if he or she needs to move beyond the limitation of the suspension system in an emergency requiring free mobility, especially when radiation use is needed requiring the operator to maintain wearing his or her radiation protective garment.
Accordingly, the need exists for a device which can mate a traditional or custom made protective garment with a conventional suspension system in order to alleviate the drawbacks of the above noted devices, allowing the operator to use his/her own custom fitted suit.